1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination switch device having a rotating connector for electrically connecting together a car body and a steering wheel. More specifically, the present invention relates to a structure for holding a rotor of a rotating connector at a neutral position until a combination switch device is attached to a bracket of a steering column and a rotor of the rotating connector is engaged with the steering wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotating connectors have been used to supply electricity from a car body to an air bag circuit or the like arranged on a steering wheel. A typical rotating connector contains a spirally wound flexible wire which, when a rotor of the rotating connector rotates by handling the steering wheel, is wound in or out within the rotating connector. The rotating connector thereby provides an electric route between the car body and the steering wheel.
The maximum number of rotations of a conventional rotating connector is limited by the number of turns of the flexible wire contained within the rotating connector. Thus, if the position of the steering wheel is not aligned properly with the rotating position of the rotating connector, the flexible wire may be wound up in the rotating connector before the steering wheel is rotated to its intended leftmost or rightmost position for turning. As a result, the steering wheel may be difficult to control, or the flexible wire may be disconnected.
To overcome this problem in the conventional rotating connector, the rotor of the rotating connector has been held at a neutral position until it is engaged to the steering wheel. The rotating connector is thus attached to the steering wheel at a neutral position in advance, whereby both the devices are assembled at appropriate rotating positions. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-18355 discloses a technique wherein a special lock material is used to hold the rotor of a rotating connector at a neutral position.
However, in the prior art described above, special parts are required to hold the rotor of the rotating connector at a neutral position. As a result, the number of parts of the rotating connector increased, and the number of processes to store the special parts also increased.